The Dallas Cowboys outscored the Jets 30-10 on Sunday afternoon, giving the visitors from New York a reminder of what the rest of the season will be like without quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers lasted only three official games before tearing his left Achilles tendon in the Jets’ season opener last week. The Jets (1-1) pulled out a 22-16 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills thanks to a tremendous defense and a stout running game.
The Jets’ defense did its job again on Sunday, stopping the Cowboys (2-0) in the red zone multiple times and forcing Dallas to field goals on five drives. But Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott undermined the defense with short passes to neutralize the Jets’ talented defensive backs. He connected with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb 11 times for 143 yards. Running back Tony Pollard caught seven more passes for 37 yards and rushed for 72 yards on 25 carries.
Overall, Prescott completed 31 of 38 attempts for 255 yards and two touchdowns behind tight ends Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker.
The Cowboys had the ball for more than 42 minutes, ran 83 plays and converted 9 of 18 third-down opportunities, giving the Jets’ offense little chance of success.
“Defensively, we couldn’t get off the field,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “If you don’t have that many balls, you can’t do anything.”
Rodgers’ replacement, Jack Wilson (second overall pick in the 2021 draft), picked up where he left off last season. Wilson, pressured by Dallas’ fearsome forward four throughout the game, was sacked three times and threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter as the Jets tried to claw back a scoring deficit. Wilson led the team with 170 yards on 12 of 27 passing and 36 yards rushing. He was sacked all night by Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, who had four quarterback hits, including two sacks.
Wilson’s few moments of brilliance came early with help from his teammates. Dallas took an early lead on Prescott’s first-quarter touchdown pass to Ferguson and added three points on Brandon Aubrey’s 35-yard field goal. Midway through the second quarter, Wilson found 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson on a play-action pass to open the drive at the Jets’ 32-yard line. The receiver broke free of the tackle and sprinted 68 yards to the end zone, narrowing the score to 10-7.
Dallas followed up with a scoring drive of its own, capping the 75-yard series with a 1-yard touchdown strike to Schoonmaker.
With 12 seconds left until halftime and the Jets driving to the Cowboys’ 16-yard line, Zach Wilson almost threw his second touchdown pass to a wide-open Garrett Wilson in the end zone, but the ball was tipped over by a Dallas defender. And it slipped well short of that mark. The Jets settled for a field goal to make the score 18-10.
“I was so disappointed,” Jack Wilson said. “I tried to rip him off the front pylon.”
Ultimately, the Cowboys returned to the formula that helped them upset the Giants 40-0 last week in New Jersey. Prescott quickly cleared the ball and Pollard, who became the team’s best running back last season, prevented the Jets from stopping the pass rush.
Parsons also stole the ball from Dalvin Cook on the Jets’ second drive of the third quarter, stopping an attempt to close the scoring gap to 21-10.
Zach Wilson, playing under pressure from behind, had interceptions on the Jets’ last three possessions. The first of those was picked off by Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse, who returned the ball 32 yards to the Jets’ 17-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys added a field goal to increase their lead to 30-10.
The last two interceptions came after the Jets had approached midfield and a Dallas secondary had forced the ball back from Wilson. Like most of the Jets’ schedule before Rodgers’ injury, this matchup was an interesting measure for a team with new postseason hopes.
Saleh said he didn’t think Sunday’s loss was the start of a long slide for the Jets, who have home games against division rivals the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs in the coming weeks.
“It’s not going to snowball. “It’s not going to snowball,” he said. “This is a really good football team. They played as good as I thought they would.”
Unfortunately for Jets fans and television networks, the Jets, who were hyped on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” over the summer, may continue to struggle as they find an offensive formula that works without Rodgers, the Hall of Fame quarterback they were projected to be. Lead them this season.
